Pacer Advisors Inc. Sells 58,844 Shares of The Middleby Co. (NASDAQ:MIDD)

Pacer Advisors Inc. cut its stake in shares of The Middleby Co. (NASDAQ:MIDD) by 5.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,080,155 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 58,844 shares during the quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Middleby were worth $146,307,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Sei Investments Co. grew its stake in shares of Middleby by 27.4% during the second quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 76,345 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $9,361,000 after buying an additional 16,432 shares during the last quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank grew its position in Middleby by 76.3% during the 2nd quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 13,614 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,669,000 after acquiring an additional 5,891 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Middleby by 41.6% in the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 62,030 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $7,605,000 after purchasing an additional 18,228 shares in the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company raised its position in Middleby by 0.3% in the second quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 237,974 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $29,178,000 after purchasing an additional 642 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Lighthouse Investment Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Middleby during the second quarter valued at about $465,000. 98.55% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Middleby Trading Up 16.5 %

NASDAQ:MIDD opened at $169.72 on Monday. The Middleby Co. has a 52 week low of $118.41 and a 52 week high of $169.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 1.70 and a current ratio of 2.81. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $139.56 and its 200-day moving average is $137.45. The firm has a market cap of $9.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.41 and a beta of 1.61.

Middleby (NASDAQ:MIDD) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The industrial products company reported $2.33 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.48 by ($0.15). The firm had revenue of $942.81 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $996.60 million. Middleby had a net margin of 10.14% and a return on equity of 14.66%. The business’s revenue was down 3.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.35 EPS. Equities analysts expect that The Middleby Co. will post 9.12 earnings per share for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Canaccord Genuity Group reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $155.00 price objective on shares of Middleby in a report on Friday, December 20th. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “hold” rating and set a $160.00 price target (down previously from $170.00) on shares of Middleby in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Middleby from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Middleby presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $154.67.

Middleby Profile

The Middleby Corporation designs, markets, manufactures, distributes, and services foodservice, food processing, and residential kitchen equipment worldwide. Its Commercial Foodservice Equipment Group segment offers conveyor, combi, convection, baking, proofing, deck, speed cooking, and hydrovection ovens; ranges, fryers, and rethermalizers; steam cooking, food warming, catering, induction cooking, and countertop cooking equipment; heated cabinets, charbroilers, ventless cooking systems, kitchen ventilation, toasters, griddles, charcoal grills, professional mixers, stainless steel fabrication, custom millwork, professional refrigerators, blast chillers, cold rooms, ice machines, and freezers; soft serve ice cream, coffee and beverage dispensing, home and professional craft brewing equipment; and fry dispensers, bottle filling and canning equipment, IoT solutions, and controls development and manufacturing.